ALBION broke their then-transfer record to sign Sunderland attacking midfielder Stephane Sessegnon on transfer deadline day September 2013.

He penned a three-year contract after the two Barclays Premier League clubs agreed an undisclosed fee.

The transfer fee surpassed the amount the Baggies agreed with Reading for Shane Long in August 2011.

Sessegnon arrived with a proven Premier League pedigree and started all-but-seven of Sunderland’s league matches in the two previous seasons, scoring 14 goals.

He made a flying start to his Baggies career, scoring on his debut in a 3-0 victory over the Black Cats.

He went on to bag another four goals that term to finish as joint-top league scorer with Saido Berahino for Albion in 2013/14.

He started his career in his homeland with Requins de’Atlantique before moving to Europe in 2004.

Sessegnon spent two seasons in the Parisian suburbs with Creteil before moving on to Le Mans, with whom he reached the semi-finals of the French League Cup.

After being snapped up by Paris Saint-Germain, he helped his new club reach the 2008/09 UEFA Cup quarter-finals in his first season. His form during that term also saw him named in the Ligue One Team of the Year.

Sessegnon went on to win the 2010 Coupe de France before earning a £6million move to Sunderland the following January.

In his first full season at the Stadium of Light, Sessgnon finished as the club’s eight-goal joint-leading scorer and top of the assists table to secure the Mackems’ Player-of-the-Season Award.

On joining Albion, the 5ft8in ace had 40 appearances and eight goals to his name for Benin and featured in the 2008 and 2010 African Nations Cups.

He had also amassed 294 career league appearances, including 30 as a substitute, scoring 42 goals.